For the first time since the fifth game of the season, the Bucks are winners of two in a row, pulling away from the Hornets in the fourth quarter to win by 10. The victory gives the Bucks a 2-1 season lead over the Hornets and concludes their five-game road trip on a positive note—winners of three of the five with a two-game home-stand to come. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.
Player Grades
Giannis Antetokounmpo
25 minutes, 24 points, 4 rebounds,
7 assists, 1 steal, 11/16 FG, 0/1 3PT, 2/4 FT, +4
The Brandon Miller block at the rim notwithstanding, Giannis got whatever he wanted offensively, spinning his way to dunks and layups throughout the night, and the assists are always nice to see. He did make some poor choices, though—overlooking a wide-open AJ Green in the corner in an attempt to draw a shooting foul stands out—and, like all of the Bucks, his rebounding left something to be desired. Gee, it’s good to have him back, though.
Grade: B+
Kevin Porter Jr.
38 minutes, 15 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 6/13 FG, 1/3 3PT, 2/2 FT, +5
Porter has rightly been criticised for his haphazard ball security recently, but boy did he address that last night. Finishing with just one turnover to go along with his 11 assists, Porter played the role of facilitator superbly. He seldom forced anything and, although the Hornets’ backcourt scored heavily, he contributed to their inefficiency (Ball and Miller combined to shoot just 18/45 and had seven turnovers). Keep it coming, Scoot!
Grade: A-
Ryan Rollins
31 minutes, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3/10 FG, 2/4 3PT, 5/6 FT, +7
Rollins was relatively quiet overall last night, finishing with his lowest scoring total in six games, but the Bucks would’ve lost this game without him. His stretch to end the first half—nine points, an assist, and a pass that led to free throws—kept the Bucks in it when the Hornets were on a tear.
Grade: C+
Myles Turner
31 minutes, 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, 7/12 FG, 3/5 3PT, 6/6 FT, +7
Heading into last night’s game, Turner was in a funk: 11.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 0.9 BPG on just 35% from the field and 32% from three over his prior 11 games and career-low averages nearly across the board on the season. Against the Hornets, though, Turner looked like the guy the Horst was hoping for when he signed him in the offseason. Turner anchored the Bucks on both ends and, stats aside, it was his physicality that stood out—he looked to make shots (and drew fouls because of that), rather than trying to draw fouls (and throwing up prayers). This is the new benchmark.
Grade: A
AJ Green
27 minutes, 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2/6 FG, 1/5 3PT, +16
Green stole Gary Harris’ “plus/minus with minimal counting stats” crown last night and, despite the poor shooting and limited numbers, the eye test backed it up. He even showed off a new wrinkle—a drive-by layup in the first—and his gravity still helped the spacing. Bigger picture, though, there are still reasons for concern: outside of his hot shooting performance against the Grizzlies, Green is now just 6/29 from three since returning from injury.
Grade: D+
Kyle Kuzma
26 minutes, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3/7 FG, /2 3PT, +13
Kuzma has a tendency to stand out—both when he’s playing well and when he’s actively hurting the team. Against the Hornets, it was the opposite as he faded into the background while the Bucks’ other bigs did the damage. Sometimes it’s your night and, on others, you just have to not hurt your team. Last night, Kuzma did the latter and, ironically, it’s that that stood out.
Grade: C–
Bobby Portis
23 minutes, 25 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 8/12 FG, 5/7 3PT, 4/4 FT, -5
Bobby. Gets. Buckets—and last night was no different. When the game was there to be won in the fourth quarter, it was Portis who stepped up, scoring 11 of the Bucks’ 28 points, including nine in a row after Ball tied it early in the quarter. On the downside, he only had two rebounds, often falling to box out Moussa Diabaté (who had six offensive caroms). But rebounding is a bigger, team-wide issue, and overall, Portis was great.
Grade: B+
Gary Trent Jr.
20 minutes, 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3/6 FG, 3/5 3PT, +2
Back in action after missing the last two games, Trent—sporting a new ‘fro—was a valuable contributor off the bench in this one, thanks mainly to his prowess from deep. He looks much better as a finisher of plays than a creator; hopefully, this is the start of his return to form after struggling for much of the season.
Grade: C+
Gary Harris
17 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1/2 3PT, +6
Harris had a very typical game from a box score perspective. On the court, it was good to see him swish a three from the left corner after air-balling one earlier and, despite his poor foul on Colin Sexton to end the third quarter, continued to showcase his heady veteran play.
Grade: C
Doc Rivers
Rivers did what he was supposed to do in this one. He called timeouts when they were needed, and it was good to see the team come out of these with adjustments, including personnel—too often recently it’s felt like the Bucks have called for a timeout only to return with the same team on the court that needed the timeout to begin with. Limiting Sims’ minutes was an interesting choice considering the team’s rebounding challenges, but it was the right one with the Bucks nearly at full strength and Turner and Portis’ play.
Grade: B
Limited Minutes: Jericho Sims.
DNP-CD: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Cole Anthony, Andre Jackson Jr., Pete Nance, Mark Sears.
Inactive: Taurean Prince, Alex Antetokounmpo.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Miles Bridges left the game at the 4:54 mark of the first quarter with an ankle injury and did not return.
- At half time, Miller and Ball combined to score 31 points on 6/14 from three. In the second half, they converted just 3/11.
- The Bucks—shooting a league-worst 72.8% on free throws for the season—shot 9/9 in the first half and finished the game shooting 19/22 (86%).
- The Bucks’ 31 total rebounds were their worst since securing just 27 against the Houston Rockets on the 9th of November. Want more? The Hornets had more individual players get offensive rebounds (10) than the bigs did offensive rebounds as a team (five).
- With just eight turnovers on the night, the Bucks tied their season-best total (they also had just eight against the Washington Wizards on opening night). They also had more steals (nine) than turnovers for the first time this season.
- Speaking of turnovers, after the game Porter spoke about his offensive progress (he has 20 assists to just five turnovers) following the loss to the Grizzlies:
“Just emptying out my mind. I feel like I try to be perfect a little too much and was trying to make reads. But, you know, just simplifying it and going at my own pace and trusting my work… that’s been working for me.”
- In his media availability, Turner spoke often about “embracing being uncomfortable.” This is a reminder that players are people too and Turner—playing in a new place for the first time in a decade—is still finding his feet in Milwaukee. Last night, he was great; the best is still yet to come, though, folks. Believe it.
- The Bucks are now just four games behind the Orlando Magic for the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference. Never give up!
Up Next
Having finished the road trip, the Bucks have today off before hosting the Washington Wizards at Fiserv Forum tomorrow. You can find all the action on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin—tip off is at 7:00 p.m. Central.
